This year we are also offering a Master Grant in cooperation with our partner project STEP.

What is STEP?The Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion (STEP) is a collaborative project of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and different partner organizations around the world. It develops young people’s skills, knowledge, and confidence to pursue an entrepreneurial career. During the training, the students learn step-by-step to start their own businesses, thereby learning effective means of creating jobs for themselves and other people in the community.

Why is STEP important?STEP provides an answer to adverse labor market conditions and limited employment opportunities. A key benefit is that the students learn to take charge of their professional future. Through the training, the students become more proactive and independent, which supports them in overcoming the extreme unemployment rates among youths in many low-income countries. Unemployment and poverty are inextricably intertwined. This is where STEP seeks to make a difference.

What makes STEP innovative?

An action-based training Students participating in the training receive a starting capital which is to be paid back at the end of the training. They are thereby given the chance to start their own business and gain real life experience as entrepreneurs during the course of the training. STEP is transdisciplinary: The training courses include topics derived from the fields of entrepreneurship, psychology and economic sciences.

A sustainable implementation processFacilitators of the partner institutions receive a three day „train-the-trainers“ workshop in order to be in a position to host the STEP training and supervise its future implementation independently.The implementation cycle involves three years in which the hosting institution is being prepared to facilitate the training and to acquire funds independently.

Your opportunities through your thesis with YEEES and the STEP research group:

• Getting to know an international entrepreneurship training and creating an impact on the local economy• Working in a multicultural team with a research assistant from Mozambique• Extending your knowledge on research in an international project• Collecting data in an international setting and using it for your thesis